Flowers are not in Your IEP

Teacher, the young man said, I found this flower over the weekend and I want to know what made it grow.

Look, young man, you’re in special education. You must have an IEP, it’s the law you see.

And flowers are not in your IEP, young man!

You have short term objectives in math and reading, young man.

You have long range goals in self help and getting along with others.

But flowers are not in your IEP, young man!

But, teacher, the young man said, I really want to know what makes the flowers grow.

Look, young man, your mother and father and the principal and I wrote your IEP and then we signed it, that’s the law, you see. And flowers are not in your IEP, young man!

Your IEP has an evaluation component young man, it’s the law, you see. And I want you to reach your objectives and attain your goals.

There’s no time for anything else, and besides…flowers are not in your IEP, young man!

Please teacher, the young man said, I’d rather learn about flowers than math or reading.

OK, young man, if you insist, but this will be a significant change in your IEP and your parents will have to agree, it’s the law, you see.

A month has passed, a conference was held, the IEP was revised, procedural safeguards were observed and all the necessary paperwork completed, it’s the law, you see.

And flowers are now in your IEP, young man.

But, teacher, the young man said, my flower is dead and I found a frog over the weekend and now I want to know what made it grow.

Look, young man, your mother and father and the principal and I revised your IEP and then we signed it, that’s the law, you see.

And flowers are now in your IEP.

You have short term objectives in math, reading, and flowers, young man.

You have long range goals in self help and getting along with others.

But frogs are not in your IEP, young man!

Gary J. Makuch is director of the Bureau of Special Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Harrisburg. He attended Bloomsburg State College in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania and received his Ed.D. from Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Makuch is active in many organizations including the Council for Exceptional Children, American Association on Mental Deficiency and the National Education Association. He lives in Harrisburg with his wife, Rebecca, and their two children.